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Guardian Spirit
|rarity = Common |casting_cost = |upkeep_cost = per turn |research_cost = |num_figures = |moves = / |melee = |defense = |resist = |hits = |abilities = Meld Non-Corporeal Resistance to All +1 }} The Guardian Spirit is a type of Fantastic Unit featured in Master of Magic. Guardian Spirits belong to the Realm, and may be summoned using a Summoning Spell of the same name. The Guardian Spirit is a mediocre combat unit - its main purpose is to Meld with magical Nodes to redirect their power to the Spirit's controller. When a Node is Melded with by a Guardian Spirit, other spirits only have a 25% chance to be able to capture that Node. Guardian Spirits also increase the score of all units in their army during battles. The Fantastic Unit Physical Description The Guardian Spirit is a form of ghost-like creature. It resembles a person or possibly a corpse, surrounded by a brightly glowing aura. It hovers slightly above the surface, and does not seem to be made of any physical matter - thus allowing the creature to move through completely solid objects. The Guardian Spirit is a . Attack Properties The Guardian Spirit's Melee Attack is somewhat powerful, but is not very impressive given that this is a . The unit's Melee Strength is . With its default chance To Hit of , the creature will inflict points of "raw" on average with each attack. This means that while the Guardian Spirit can and will cause to most opponents, it takes quite some time for it to defeat all but the weakest enemies. It will likely become almost useless in combat as the game matures and stronger units begin to appear. Defensive Properties The Guardian Spirit has a Defense score of , meaning that it will block an average of points from Conventional Damage attacks. This makes it somewhat vulnerable, even to weak enemy units. Fortunately, the Guardian Spirit does have , allowing it to survive some combat damage before being destroyed. This creature also has a very impressive Resistance score of - which is raised immediately to whenever combat occurs, thanks to the unit's own Resistance to All +1 ability. This renders the Guardian Spirit almost totally immune to Unit Curses and other combat effects that require a Resistance check - it will never fail them. Only effects that inflict a penalty of at least on their targets can still harm this creature in combat. Other Properties The Guardian Spirit has a Movement Allowance of , though it can alternatively use when moving or fighting over Ocean tiles. Furthermore, the unit is Non-Corporeal, which allows it to move on the overland map at a rate of 0.5 Movement Points per tile - regardless of what type of terrain it is attempting to cross. This allows an unenchanted Guardian Spirit to move 2 tiles per turn on the overland map, albeit at the cost of not being able to benefit from Roads of any kind. In siege battles, the creature can also cross through City Walls as though they were not there. Whenever the Guardian Spirit enters combat, it will immediately bestow a bonus to the Resistance score of each and every friendly unit - including itself. This makes the Spirit's entire army slightly more resistant to enemy Unit Curses and Special Damage attacks. The bonus persists as long as at least one Guardian Spirit is still alive, and disappears when combat ends (but will reappear in the next battle). However, it does not stack, and is not cumulative with the Prayermaster ability either. Melding : The most important quality of the Guardian Spirit is its ability to Meld with magical Nodes. This is an extra unit action that can only be used on the overland map. Whenever a Guardian Spirit is on the same tile as a Node not already controlled by its owner through another Guardian Spirit, the "Meld" command becomes available to it, so long as it has any Movement Allowance remaining. Executing this action immediately destroys the Spirit as a unit - in an attempt to take control of the Node. Melding is always successful if the Node is not controlled by any player, or if it is linked to its owner by a . However, if a rival Wizard controls the Node through their own Guardian Spirit, the chance of success is only 25%, even though the Spirit attempting the Meld will always be destroyed regardless of whether it succeeds in subverting the Node or not. The type of spirit Melded into a Node, if any, can be viewed in the Surveyor (F1) by mousing over the tile it is on. If the Melding is successful, the Node comes under the control of the owner of the late Guardian Spirit, and will immediately start contributing to their income. If "Show Node Owners" is enabled in the game's Settings, the Node's entire zone of influence will start to sparkle in the banner color of this Wizard, indicating both the amount of generated by it, and the map tiles on which it enhances Fantastic Units matching its Realm. Basic Strategy During the very early game, a Guardian Spirit can be a dangerous combat creature - delivering more than the average low-tier Normal Unit, and being able to take much more as well. As stronger units appear however, the Guardian Spirit loses its favour as a combat unit. The primary reason to summon these creatures is not for combat though - but rather for Melding with Nodes. Instead of using , a Wizard will want to capture Nodes with Guardian Spirits, as this significantly reduces the chance of rivals taking over these Nodes. Naturally, it's still worth leaving a few units to protect such Nodes, but even if the enemy manages to defeat those units, they will need to send 4 spirits on average to take the Node itself. This often gives enough time for a relief army to arrive on the scene and ultimately prevent the capture. Enemy Guardian Spirits Guardian Spirits are rather rare, as are most creatures. They may occasionally appear in Ancient Temples or Towers of Wizardry, and will often be accompanied by Unicorns. While Guardian Spirits can cause some problems for Wizards relying on Unit Curses or Special Damage attacks, they should not be too difficult to destroy by Conventional Damage, especially with units stronger than the lowest-tier variety initially available. Ability Overview Meld * This unit is able to meld with a magical Node, capturing it to generate for the unit's controller. The unit itself is destroyed in the process. * To use this ability, the unit needs to be on the same tile as a Node not already Melded with by a Guardian Spirit of the same player, be selected, and have Movement Allowance remaining. If all requirements are met, the "Meld" command becomes active in the unit window at the bottom right of the screen. Non-Corporeal * This unit may move across any overland terrain at a rate of 0.5 Movement Point per tile. * The unit does not get speed benefits from moving across Roads or Enchanted Roads. * During battle, the unit may move through City Walls as though they were not there. * The unit is immune to the effects of the , , and spells. Resistance to All +1 * During combat, this unit provides a Resistance bonus of to every friendly unit - including itself. * This bonus persists as long as the unit remains alive during the battle. It disappears if or when the army returns to the overland map. * This ability does not stack, and is not cumulative the Prayermaster ability. If more than one unit possesses either, only the highest bonus present will apply. The Summoning Spell Usage Guardian Spirit may only be cast overland, for the base Casting Cost of . Upon successfully casting the spell, the new Guardian Spirit unit will appear in the Town currently containing the Wizard's Summoning Circle, with full Movement Allowance, and may move and/or attack immediately as necessary. To keep the Guardian Spirit in play, its controller is required to pay an Upkeep Cost of per turn. This is drawn automatically from the caster's pool at the beginning of each turn while the unit exists. Failure to pay this Upkeep due to lack of will lead to the Guardian Spirit immediately disappearing, along with any Unit Enchantments currently affecting it. However, this upkeep is for the unit, not for the spell: Summoning Spells can not be dispelled by the enemy once cast. Naturally though, if the unit is destroyed, then it is gone from the world entirely, and there is no further need to pay its Upkeep Cost. Units summoned on the overland map may also be dismissed manually from their unit statistics window the same way as any other overland unit (during their controller's turn, while not in combat). The Guardian Spirit is also automatically destroyed when commanded to Meld with a magical Node, regardless of whether it succeeds in gaining control over it or not. Acquisition As a Common Spell of the Realm, Guardian Spirit may become available to any Wizard who acquires at least Spellbook. With none, the spell can naturally not be learned during the campaign. This is the minimum requirement for it to be traded for, appear in Treasure, or be found in the spoils of victory when conquering the Fortress of a rival Wizard who already knows it. The base chance for Guardian Spirit to be researchable (at some point) in the campaign is roughly 30% (with book), which gradually increases with the amount of Spellbooks possessed or found during gameplay. With or more, the spell is certain to show up sooner or later, unless acquired from another source. It has a Research Cost of , although its research is quicker for Wizards possessing the Sage Master, and/or Conjurer Retorts; or a bookshelf containing or more. Guardian Spirit may also be selected as a starting spell by any Wizard with at least books. In this case, it will be available for casting as soon as the game begins. Category:Units Category:Fantastic Creatures Category:Life